My wife and I are the original (and happy) owners of a 2000 Xterra SE 4wd. We've driven it all over California and clear across the country to our new home in Boston, MA putting over 125k on it in the process. We had been toying with the idea of getting a new vehicle but have decided that the Xterra has been so good to us that we just aren't ready to part with it yet. But in order to keep it, I would like to make some enhancements to the power train and exterior/interior. I own and know a good deal about Wranglers but know surprisingly little about what upgrades/mods are around for the 2k Xterra's. I would like to swap out the exhaust and possibly supercharge the engine to bump up the horsepower and hopefully improve the mileage (if that's even possible). It's currently down to 17-18 mpg on the highway and with current gas prices; it gets expensive driving nearly 90 miles per day for work. We've just slapped a second set of 31" BFG T/A's and I'm sure they are partly to blame for the lagging mpg.

If anyone can point me in the right direction for info on the following, we would greatly appreciate it:

Cat-back Exhaust system (stainless most likely), header and front pipe if recommended
Supercharger if available for the 2k's
HID light kit and Euro lenses (I know they are illegal everywhere but does anyone know of actual enforcement?)
Stereo head unit that fits in the stock hole, speakers, amp, etc
General recommendations for an Xterra with over 125k miles on it as far as maintenance products go.
A bumper guard similar to the one shown below here >> http://img3.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?746253070e.jpg


Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Jody & Alysia

First Welcome to the Club!!!

Now onto answers. Everyone is going to have a good deal to add to this, but just to get the ball rolling...

1. There are only a couple companies that do exhaust systems for the Xterra. I believe there is a thread that talks about that in the performance upgrades section.
2. The supercharger that Nissan put on the 01-04 Xterra's is theorhetically possible to put on the 00. However, that being said it is a pain in the butt, because there are a lot of internals that should be switched out for it all to work properly. If I recall correctly Stillen does a supercharger kit for the Xterra, however it is pricy.
3. For an HID kit, I would look seriously at www.hidworld.com (http://www.hidworld.com). I have several friends who have had great experiences with them. I'm not quite sure I know what you mean by the Euro Lenses with the Xterra, as it wasn't released overseas. For enforcement, I cannot speak to the law enforcement community in Mass, however here in South Carolina, It's not something we look for, as there are usually far too many other issues to deal with. No officer I have ever worked with or known has written an improper lighting ticket for HID's.
4. Stereo equipment is very subjective. That being said, personally I am a huge fan of Clarion or Pioneer head units. They both have double din units that incorporate DVD, Video, and Navigation for a reasonable price. For mid's and highs, I personally only use MB Quart. They are a little pricy, but at the same time I haven't had anything that beats them. I used to do competition car audio many moons ago. For Amplifiers, I like MTX, because they are cheap and durable. Are you thinking about subwoorfers? Just be forwarned that they are going to take up cargo space in the back.
5. General maintenance... Have you done the timing belt, water pump, spark plugs, and so on? Air filter, and switching to synthetic oil is also not a bad idea.
6. I'm sure there are several vendors for that bull bar. My question would be to you, do you want this for functionality, or for looks. If for looks, then that's fine. If you want for functionality, then you want a shrockworks bumper (http://www.shrockworks.com). They are the way to go. the bull bars and stock looking brush guards actually do more damage than good when involved in a collision, even at low speeds.

Believe me when I say I understand how hard it is to get rid of a durable vehicle in favor of another. That being said, and given what you are looking at spending in improvements and upgrades, you might want to look at an 06 Xterra. If you do everything on your list, then you are looking at spending upwards of 3,000, if not more. This is the right time of year to get an 06 Xterra on clearance, get a good deal, and shortly Nissan is going to up the rebates that they offer as you are getting ready for the 07's to come out. I bought an 05 Xterra in 06, and there was a 2500 rebate, as well as the dealership coming down off the price as well. It made for quite a deal. Just food for thought.

Justice,

Thanks for the reply.

I've been doing some looking at the shrockworks site and think their bumpers are overkill for my needs. I'm really looking for something to "protect" my front end from the less than expert parallel parkers in Boston. My license plate has been nearly ripped out of my bumper already.

I've found some info on the superchargers but they do seem to be a less than desirable upgrade to the '00. Lots of work and really seem to require many more system upgrades to make the engine strong enough to handle the extra oomph. I think I read that there aren't any computer mods for the sytem either. I'll do some looking around the forums for more on this.

I read something about a month ago about an owner who did an HID upgrade and said he put in some Euro lenses. My thought was that they are a clear lens so as not to de/refract any light back into the bucket.

The timing belt will be done in the next week or two, just waiting on my Wrangler to arrive by truck so I have a car to drive as backup. I should get on the H2O pump, the system was flushed about 3 months ago during the 120k tune-up pre cross country move.

I've been doing some looking around on Crutchfield (great resource in my opinion) to find what is out and fits the holes. I do think I will end up with a navi system. Have you used the DVD based systems and are they as good as the hard drive systems (I assume the HD systems are faster and easily updateable)? Can you input destinations and save them to either system (we have a home in VT that may be off the map, so to speak)?

Thanks again,

Jody

Yeah - if the shrock is over kill, leave the front clip stock...that way, the bad parkers will do less damage than if you added the guard (Guard is WORSE than nothing, and doesn't help, despite looking like it should, etc.)

A strip of rub guard along the areas you wish to fend off bad parkers/errent shopping carts will give more protection believe it or not than that guard, and is far cheaper.

Many of us find that the new ethanol blends are killing the mpg, as it has less energy per gallon than straight gas...and, a super charger will NOT improve your mpg, period, anyway....and, even if it did, the pay back period would be so long in the future, that putting the money into a money market, etc, would be a better ROI.

:D

Borla, Gibson, Magnaflow all make exhausts. Adding a Volant intake to really free up the breathing will yield noticeable if not earth shacking results.